Singing Fools was a short-lived Canadian non-performing musical group based in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, composed of musicians Tim Dunlop and Kevin Murphy. The pair wrote and recorded hip hop-style songs with politically focused lyrics.

History

The Singing Fools came together in November 1982. The released a self-produced 1982 vinyl single, ''The Bum Rap'', which received wide airplay on campus radio and was a criticism of the Canadian government's wage and price control program. Its sparse guitar and drum box arrangement was overlain by excerpts of Prime Minister

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

's infamous exhortation during the 1970

October Crisis The October Crisis () was a chain of political events in Canada that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross f ...

to "

just watch me "Just watch me" is a phrase made famous by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on October 13, 1970, during the October Crisis. The term is still regularly used in Canadian political discussion; Justin Trudeau, Pierre's son, has also used th ...

". The song was later touted as Canada's first

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

record, even though it was actually preceded by several 1979 singles by the lesser-known rapper Mr. Q.Michael Rancic
"Finding Mr. Q"
'' Hazlitt'', March 17, 2021. By 1985 the pair had released their third "civil defencercise" themed record ''The Apocalypso'' and its accompanying video which was given regular rotation on

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

. The nuclear war-themed clip featured a cameo dance appearance by Ottawa Mayor

Marion Dewar Marion Hilda Dewar (February 17, 1928 – September 15, 2008) was a prominent member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), List of mayors of Ottawa, mayor of Ottawa from 1978 to 1985 and a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1987 to ...

. The extended-play vinyl disc also featured a track entitled "Grave Expectations," a drum-backed recitation by English historian and anti-nuclear activist,

E.P. Thompson Edward Palmer Thompson (3 February 1924 – 28 August 1993) was an English historian, writer, socialist and peace campaigner. He is best known for his historical work on the radical movements in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in partic ...

, of his apocalyptic 1950 verse on atomic war, "The Place Called Choice". That year the Singing Fools were signed by A&M Records; A&M re-released ''The Apocalypso'', but dropped the group after a few months and the band released its self-produced

mini-LP A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini- ...

, ''Call Me Lucky'' in 1986. The same year, Singing Fools were nominated (by themselves) as "best independent artist" in the

CASBY Awards The CASBY Awards were a Canadian awards ceremony for independent and alternative music, presented annually by Toronto, Ontario radio station CFNY, currently branded as 102.1 The Edge. CASBY is an acronym for Canadian Artists Selected By You. The ...

References

{{Authority control Canadian hip-hop groups Musical groups from Ottawa Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1990 1982 establishments in Ontario 1990 disestablishments in Ontario